The life of God at work in the soul of man is a most precious treasure. The first question of the Westminster Catechism introduces this treasure, “What is the Chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This message will explain the historical source of the question, the question itself, and the answer to the question. To glorify God is to reflect the beauty of the Lord. Experience the everlasting enjoyment of God—here on earth. This is a time for personal consecration to the glory of God. All that I am; all that I have; all that I will be—for the most important thing, the most enduring thing—to mirror the glory of God.

Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. This is the inerrant, all-sufficient, sweeter-than-honey Word of God. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always caring about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. Let's pray. Father, we pray you would open up these words to us and take us into the world of your great desires for us for all eternity. Amen.

Well of course this conference has its focus on the chief end of man. We're building it out of the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The question is, what is the chief end of man? The answer, of course, is man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And I have something provided for you.

It's actually a copy of Fisher's Catechism. I'm gonna build my message out of seven of the questions in Fisher's catechism. I provided this for you for ongoing study. What we've printed here is Fisher's deeper explanation of this one question, what is the chief end of man? And he details much about this question and I am very thankful for it.

It's a great catechism, it's much longer than the one that you have in your hand. The chief end of man explains the ultimate purpose for everything that we were created for. Children, Chief end? A chief? Are we talking about an Indian chief?

Well, think about it like this. Well, an Indian chief is the top guy. He's the one in control. He has the final say. He has the final direction to give.

He is the chief. But this is not an Indian chief that we're talking about here. This is the main thing, the one who has the best things to say, the one who has the final word. It's the chief end, the chief goal, the chief result of man is to glorify God. The glory of God is the greatest treasure that exists.

And the glory of God in the soul of man is the greatest pleasure that's enduring. Look again at 2 Corinthians 4 verse 7. You will learn that God actually implants this treasure, this treasure of the glory of God. The Greek word that is used here by the Apostle Paul is the word, you know the word, thesaurus. It means rich, it means inexhaustible.

That's the treasure, It's an inexhaustible treasure that God has for man. And this glory, this treasure, sustains man in everything that he experiences in the world. Well, you can see it here. Even though you're hard-pressed, you're not crushed. Even though you're perplexed, you're not in despair.

Even though you're persecuted, you're not forsaken. Even though you're struck down, you're not destroyed. Why? That the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body. And the reason that believers are not falling apart in a world that's falling apart is that they possess treasure in their souls.

They have the life-giving presence of God. They have the kingdom of God living within. It's like treasure in a field. It's like a pearl of great price. It's like a mustard seed living inside the soul and expanding.

But before we dive into the chief end of man, we need to start with the chief end of God. What is the chief end of God? Well if you want to read an extended discussion of that you can turn to Jonathan Edwards' work, a dissertation concerning the end for which God created the world. In order to understand the chief end of man, we should understand the chief end of God. And Edwards describes it in such clarity.

Romans 11, 36 is a statement that proclaims it. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever, amen. It's the same idea that Solomon communicated in Proverbs 16 four. The Lord made all things for himself. All, everything that he has made, even the wicked was made for his glory.

This is the best news for man that God, the holy God, the God who is love, the God who is all wise, that he would implant this treasure in the soul of man. It's the treasure of these earthen vessels. And Jonathan Edwards tells us that the chief end is that thing which someone seeks for his own sake. God is seeking glory for his own sake. It's the thing he loves the most.

It's the thing that he takes pleasure in the most. And Edwards talks about two different kinds of ends in his treatise. He talks about, first of all, subordinate ends or goals, and then he talks about ultimate or chief ends. A subordinate end or a subordinate goal is something that's a means to an end. It's not the final end, but it's a means to an end.

And Edwards gives an illustration of a man, A man who wanted to satisfy his appetite. And so in order to satisfy his appetite, the first thing he does is he sells a garment for money. And then with the money, he buys tools. And with the tools, he tills his garden. And with the time that God has given him, he harvests a crop to supply him with that food.

And then he eats the food, and that satisfies his appetite. The subordinate ends have been completed. The chief end is that his appetite is satisfied. So God has arranged the world so that there are subordinate ends for the glory of God and then there are ultimate or chief ends for the glory of God. Gratifying his appetite is his chief end because it was at the end of a chain of all the subordinate ends.

The subordinate ends were important but they weren't all important and Edwards uses beautiful language to describe what this is like. He says the rays of light from God shine upon and into the creature and is reflected back to the luminary, that's God. The beams of glory come from God. They are reflected back again to their original, so that the whole is of God and in God and to God, and He is the beginning and the middle and the end. So God shines the light of his glory into the soul of man and that glory reflects back to him that glory which He loves the most.

He loves his own glory. We should be glad that God loves his own glory because he gives us a glory that we do not have and he does it for his own pleasure. He created mankind for his own pleasure, that his glory would rebound back to him through his creatures. Now not not to confuse the matter but it is also God's chief in to glorify His Son. In Ephesians chapter 1 verses 7 through 11, we learn that all things are summed up in Christ, which all also means that God's chief end is to glorify his son and to enjoy him forever, which gives us such a sense of the significance of what it means to have the life of God in the soul of man, to be in Christ, to exist in a world where Christ is in you, the hope of glory.

So the chief end of God is his own glory. And God created his creatures to be emanations of his glory, because God delights in his excellency. He delights in his wisdom. He delights in his holiness. He delights in his love and his joy.

And so he shares it with his creatures so that it would shine. And it is something that shines. And that's why It is said in John 1.14 that the glory of Jesus Christ was seen. Jesus said, my peace I give unto you. He said these things I write that you might have my joy in you.

God wants to infuse his glory into his creatures. It is his chief end. God shines his glory and his happiness into his creatures so that his creatures would rejoice in him and bring glory to him in all of their happiness. So that brings us to the heart of our subject, the chief end of man. And I hope that Fisher's catechism is a help to you.

It's a very powerful instruction that gives the details of all of these things. And so What Fisher does in his catechism is he takes this first question and he elaborates on it. And I'm going to give you just seven questions of many questions that are illustrated in this booklet that you have in your hand. And the first question that this catechism, this catechism answers is, what is my purpose? Why am I alive?

And so we read, what is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Well, what does that mean? Question one, what is meant by the chief, man's chief end? That which ought to be man's chief aim and design and that which he should seek after as his chief happiness.

So the catechism answers the question that everybody asks. It's actually the most common question. It's a question that people ask even believers over and over again in their life. What's the purpose of my life? Why was I born?

That's the answer to the question. You were born because God's chief end was to glorify himself through you. We do lots of things in this world. These subordinate ends. We seek first the kingdom of God and and his righteousness And we seek the thing that the king delights in.

You know, what kind of family does the king delight in? What kind of church? What kind of work? What kind of music? What kind of education?

What kind of reading? What kind of hobbies? What kind of relationships does God delight in? These are subordinate ends. This theme song of our conference based on the phrase, ever only all for thee.

That's the chief end of man. The second question, Where am I seeking joy and satisfaction? This is question 3. What should he seek after as his chief happiness? The enjoyment of God, the desire of our soul is to thy name and the remembrance of the Isaiah 26, 8.

All this to say true joy and satisfaction is only found in one place. It's not found in the things of this world. If you want to dim your joy and satisfaction, then drink of the things of the world. But true joy and satisfaction come from the things that God said are good. The third question, what goals am I pursuing?

What goals am I pursuing? This actually directs us to something that you must never forget, and that is the importance of goals. God has created mankind to have goals, to set objectives, and to be clear about them. Question two, what ought to be man's chief aim and design? The glory of God.

First Chronicles 16, 28, and 29. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord the glory due his name. What goals are you pursuing? Well this question makes it clear that there are goals that you ought to be pursuing and every person reading this should say, are the things that I'm pursuing, ought I to pursue them? Are they pleasing to God?

Are they consistent with the glory of God? God is moving himself towards something to sum up all things in Christ, and he's taking all of his creatures in that same direction. Ought, the word ought is so critical here. There's something that we ought to self-consciously do. We're not our own.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where if someone says, you ought to do that, they're just gonna call you a legalist. But there are things that we ought to do and then notice notice the word design God's God's design is that your soul would possess treasure that would sustain you and enjoyment forever. That's God's design. I really don't know why people think God is a killjoy. I've never found that to be true.

He only increases joy. He deprives you of the things that destroy joy. I think also we should recognize that the designer who designed all things gave all things meaning. Everything has meaning in your father's world. Everything has meaning.

We disagree with the atheists. The new atheism of Richard Dawkins and his friends, is trying to convince us that the search for meaning is futile. He writes, The universe, as we observe, has precisely the properties we should expect. If there is at bottom no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless, indifference. Well that's not your Father's world.

Your Father's world has design. All of it has meaning, every bit of it has meaning. You can't look anywhere in the world and not find meaning of the kingdom of God. The atheist leaves us purposeless. God takes us on a journey of wonderful purpose.

It's good to have goals. It's good to be goal-oriented. That's what this question makes very, very clear. We don't just wander through the world. But the catechism doesn't just leave us with irrelevant goals.

It leaves us with the absolutely most life-giving goals. Here's the fourth question. What is it that enables a person to glorify God and enjoy Him? Question four in your Catechism. What connection is there between the glorifying of God and the enjoyment of Him?

Answer, they are connected by a rich and sovereign grace, persuading and enabling the sinner to embrace Jesus Christ as the only way to God and glory. Ephesians 2-8, by grace you are saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. John 14 6. I, says Christ, am the way.

No man come to the Father but by me. The enjoyment of God and the enjoyment of life forever begins with the new birth. If anyone wants to enjoy life, if anyone wants to have treasure in their soul to get them through absolutely everything, You must be born again. And then the fifth question. What does this mean about ordinary areas of life?

Question five. Does the chief end exclude subordinate ends? Oh, we talked about subordinate ends, didn't we? The things of everyday life. No!

For aiming principally at the glory of God, men may use the supports of natural life for refreshing their bodies and be diligent in their particular callings that they may provide for themselves and their families." And the Catechism lists 1 Thessalonians 4-11 and 12, 1 Timothy 5-8. This means that the subordinate ends set the stage for glorifying God. They are, you are actually able to glorify God in all the subordinate ends. And he lists these various categories. We glorify God by waking up and getting out of bed.

We glorify God when we are having our breakfast. We glorify God when we greet the people in our home. We glorify God when we get in our cars, when we go to work. We glorify God when we till our gardens, when we change the diapers, when we clean up the throw up on the ground from our children. We glorify God in everything.

There's nothing that's outside of the realm of the glory of God. You can glorify God in everything. How about that? Treasure for everything. This is the promise of this wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christians don't need to move to monasteries. They can go about their daily life and and engage their their work life and their family life and the various things that they do to sustain life. I read that one day Martin Luther was asked by somebody, if you knew you were gonna die tomorrow, what would you do today? He said, I'd plant an apple tree. And he would glorify God every day of his life according to the subordinate means.

And then the sixth question, how does a person glorify God? Well the answer is by the word of God. This is the beginning of question two. And actually the whole next section of this Fisher's Catechism. Question two is what rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?

Answer, the word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. It's the Word of God. That's the gateway to glorifying God and enjoying God. You know, children, when you go into the church, you should get so dialed in on the preaching. Get dialed in on the singing.

Get dialed in on the reading of Scripture. This is how God desires to implant treasure in your soul. I'm so glad there's so many children here to listen to this. Go get the treasure. It's there.

I know your parents are trying to teach you how to read. Learn how to read as soon as you can. Be diligent and learn how to read the word of God. These are words of life. The seventh question, how can we increase our enjoyment of God?

Question 35. What are the external means by or in which we are to seek after the enjoyment of God in all the ordinances of His worship, public, private, and secret, such as the word read and heard, the sacraments, prayer, meditation, fasting, thanksgiving, and the like. If you want to increase your enjoyment of God, then stop doing the things that don't increase your enjoyment of God and do the things that do increase your enjoyment of God. Listed right here in front of us, I don't even need to repeat them. But we call these the ordinary means of grace.

These are the ways that God desires to implant His treasure in earthen vessels. Okay. At this conference, we want to make an appeal. I want to make an appeal to my own soul and that is to enter into a time of consecration to glorify God. All that I am, all that I have, all that I will be for the most important thing.

This thing. This treasure of the glory of God so that my life might glorify Him and that God would receive his chief end from my life and your life. For we are not our own. We were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

I was reading a prayer of Joseph Alain, an English Puritan. I'll just close with this. Let me be the place where you live. Now I will be ruled by your dictates and directions, guided by your counsel. I will be governed by your law.

I solemnly surrender myself to you. I dedicate myself without reserve to you. The chief end of God is to glorify his perfections and share them with his creatures. The rays of God's glory shine upon sinners and those rays of glory are not only displayed in the world but they shine back to give God what he ultimately desires. Those rays are reflected back to him.

This is the chief end of man. Would you pray with me? Father, as we launch this conference, I pray that you would anoint all of us, that you would show us the treasure, this treasure in earthen vessels, that you would help us that you would help us to marvel at the beauty and the goodness of your chief end to glorify yourself in us. Amen. Thank you.